Strategic Audit

Diagnose how well an organisation's current strategy fits its environment, capabilities and results, and report findings with evidence and severity. Adapted from the eight-part strategic audit of Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman and Bamford (2018) Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy, 15th edn, Pearson, for owner-managed firms, NGOs and growth companies in East Africa. The audit diagnoses; it does not rewrite the strategy.

Use When

• An owner, board, funder or incoming manager wants a diagnostic of where the organisation's strategy stands before a new plan, turnaround, retained advisory engagement or growth round.
• A fixed-fee strategic audit or growth diagnostic is being delivered and its report table of contents must follow a defensible method.
• A plan refresh needs to know whether the stated mission, objectives and strategy are explicit, consistent and actually realised.
• An NGO or social enterprise needs a strategy review ahead of a five-year strategic plan or a donor re-application.

Do Not Use When

• Use meta-due-diligence instead when the review supports an acquisition, investment, lending or partnership transaction and needs an evidence room and red-flag report.
• Use meta-strategic-factor-analysis instead when only the weighted EFAS, IFAS, SFAS and TOWS tables are needed.
• Use meta-critical-thinking-business-logic instead to test the reasoning of a draft plan rather than the live organisation.
• Use kaizen-improvement-system instead to audit this skills engine or one of its outputs.
• Do not edit the client's documents or strategy during the audit; this skill is read-only by default.